Watch Art Cashin: Fed's 'shock and awe' hits everyone

Art Cashin says just about everyone on Wall Street was surprised by the Federal Reserve's version of "shock and awe."

Cashin, UBS' director of floor operations at the NYSE, told CNBC's Bob Pisani after the close of trading that the Fed's decision not to start tapering its asset purchases came as a complete surprise, even though it does appear to have been driven by the economic data.

"If you look at all the different asset classes, it wasn't just the stock guys who got picked off. Gold had a phenomenal move, utilities had a phenomenal move, Treasury yields had a phenomenal move... emerging markets, REITS, So a lot of people had miscalculated."

"Now the big thing here is, the Fed may not have misled anybody, but they certainly didn't correct anybody."